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Problem.
A parts fabrication firm, with facilities in three different states, forms metal into precisely designed architectural shapes.
The owner contacted T-21, saying, "Some employees, with a lot
of critical operational knowledge,
retired this past year, so things are getting chaotic with new, inexperienced
people coming in. All of the staff are starting to
complain, so I've got to do something on this, A-S-A-P."
He continued, "It used to be, when
we were smaller and the old timers were still around, we
had all of it in our heads; but, since we've grown and lost some key people, things have gotten pretty bad.
We end-up spinning our wheels on almost every order."
The T-21 Team Manager (TM) suggested that a Knowledge Management System might reduce
the problems of lost knowledge and training time for new employees. After some discussion,
the owner agreed to try it.
Action.
The TM established a Team that promptly began designing a
Knowledge Management system for the company. When completed, it would serve as a repository of company knowledge about jobs,
procedures, and policy. It would obviate or mitigate effects of employee turnover and promote order and efficiency.
Working with the company,
the T-21 Team devised a custom
Information Classification Structure (ICS) - a way to organize information, specific to their environment.
The Team established a secure Web Site and loaded all available information into it, according to the new
ICS. With the company's assistance, missing knowledge and data were identified, codified, and loaded into the new, secure Web Site - accessible only to those who need it, 24 hours per day. Finally, the
T-21 Team established a written procedure for updating the Knowledge Base on the Web Site, and gave the company the option of designating an employee to learn to update it or having
T-21 continue the work. They decided to concentrate on their main work and allow
T-21 to do the routine updating.
Results.
After the first year of operation, the owner told his TM,
"This is great. We can find answers pretty quickly to just about any questions that
come up.
If we don't, we get the information and put it right into the system.
For new people coming in - it's a lot easier and
they get up-to-speed faster."
He continued, "This is going to save us a lot of
money. My people are happy with it, too. And you know what:
they tell me that this Knowledge Management System will help us a lot
in getting ISO-9000 certified.
This thing saved us."
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